Churches like Arkansas s Pleasant Valley Church of Christ have also been forced to color outside the lines, inviting visitors to participate in an outdoor candlelight service at the 18,000-seat War Memorial Stadium at the University of Arkansas.
At the nearby North Little Rock First United Methodist, Christmas Eve services will be held in a parking lot and broadcast on an FM radio station. Jonathan and Alesha Vaughn, and their children, Addison, 5, left, and Ann Marie, 7, pray during services in the Worship Center at Highland Colony Baptist Church in Ridgeland, Miss., Nov. 29, 2020. (Associated Press)
Lynchburg s Peakland Baptist Church will prerecord its services.
Local churches prepare for Christmas services amid pandemic
Masks, social distancing, sign-in sheets even different service schedules
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LYNCHBURG, Va. – It will mainly be a silent night this Christmas Eve, as local churches of different denominations put similar COVID-19 guidelines into place.
Many pews will be taped off and empty to maintain social distancing. Churches are relying on live streaming services for this year’s celebrations.
Monsignor Kenneth Rush, pastor of Holy Cross Catholic Church in Lynchburg, says some worshippers will be allowed in, masks are required, and so is filling out a sign-in sheet.
While they’re adjusting to COVID guidelines, the church is also adjusting its schedule.
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Periods of snow. Low 23F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Snowfall around one inch. Updated: March 31, 2021 @ 5:20 pm
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An early riser, Willmar funeral director Nathan Streed usually begins his days around 6 a.m. and clocks out at 5:30 most evenings.
But recently his phone just keeps ringing, as COVID-19 continues to spread rapidly throughout Minnesota, claiming more than 4,400 lives and counting. You don t turn it off at night, said Streed, owner of Harvey Anderson and Johnson Funeral Homes, with six locations in central Minnesota. It s always on your mind.
Since the pandemic struck last spring, much attention has focused on the nation s first responders, the medical workers on the front lines. But relatively little heed has been given to the last responders funeral directors like Streed, who must make sense of these new and unfamiliar deaths and help guide the evolution in how we mourn them.